For those who find their heart skipping a beat just looking at these photographs, it may of some comfort to know that the two rocks are actually joined together lower down.

However, there is still a life-threatening drop of around 20ft on the near, 'safer' side of the rocks. On the far side, the drop is about 0.6miles.

The photos were taken by amateur Dutch photographer Hans van de Vorst, 47, who visited the spot on holiday.

When he arrived at the scene the man, dressed in jeans, t-shirt and flip-flops, was lounging on the rock column around 15ft from the edge of the canyon.

Mr van de Vorst, a marketing consultant from Veenendaal in central Holland, watched as the man set up his tripod and captured the last minutes of the sunset, beforecasually finishing his beer, packing up his equipment and making the leap.

'When we arrived he was just taking in the scenery and people were discussing how he managed to get on there in the first place,' he said.

'Nobody even bothered with the sunset - everyone's eyes were on this man and how he was going to get off the rock.

'He looked really relaxed and casually stood up before jumping across the gap.'There was complete silence as he packed his things up and then a few gasps when he jumped.

'He didn't grab the rock properly the first time and slipped back about 50cm (20 inches) before clinging onto it. Even then he didn't look fazed.'

Mr van de Vorst posted the pictures on the Internet in a bid to track down the mystery man, but no-one has come forward.

The Grand Canyon - which straddles the Colorado River - is 277 miles long and ranges in width from 4 to 18 miles with a depth of more than a mile at its deepest point.

It is one of the deepest in the world and is famous for its array of bright reds and oranges, which are caused by the unusual geological formations.